Applicators



April 6, 1965 F. Hon/[BURGER 3,176,338

APPLICATORS Filed Oct. 24, 1962 INVEN TOR.

1Y0/Mg?" er MM *h United States Patent O 3,176,338 APPLICATGRS Freddy Homburger, 759 High St., Dedham, Mass. Filed Oct. 24, 1962, Ser. No. 232,735 16 Claims. (Cl. 15-5t}9) This invention relates to an article of manufacture and, in particular, to applicators in the form of finger cots carrying a useful material such as a dentifrice, a cosmetic, a medicant, a polishing'compound, an abrasive, or, in

fact, any material which may conveniently be employed in a small quantity'by dobbing and/or rubbing.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide for dispensing a strip of articles of the foregoing kind in quantity, in such form as to/ be detachable from a roll of separable articles or from a folded length of separable articles; to provide a strip of separable articles of such kind that, when rolled or folded, the useful material does not have Contact with itself nor with the dispensing or packaging equipment; to provide a strip of such articles which may be separated into single or multiple units of a size to be easy to carry about in the pocket or pocketbook without danger of soiling the content thereof or the person; to provide a strip of such articles wherein the useful material may be readily exposed for use; and to provide a strip of such articles wherein a single length may include two applicators.

As herein illustrated, the article of manufacture comprises al multi-ply strip having plies which are separable to expose their opposed surfaces, a plurality of spaced bodies of a useful composition attached to the opposed surface of one of the plies, and adhesive detachably connecting the opposed surface of the other ply to the opposed surface of the one ply between the spaced bodies. The yadhesive may be situated on the opposed surface of the one ply between the bodies or upon the opposed surface of the other ply, or upon the opposed surfaces of both'plies. One ply may comprise a protective strip. Alternatively, both plies may have spaced bodies attached Mthereto with adhesive intermediate the bodies, arranged with a body on one ply opposite a space on the other ply. The strip is weakened at regular intervals transverselyy thereof to permit separation of portions of predetermined length, for example, by perforations, enabling the strip to be torn transversely. The places of separation are selected so that each portion has on it a plurality of bodies. The bodies may be disposed transversely or longitudinally, and one or both plies are tubular so that when a length is separated from the strip the finger may be thrust into the tube to enable holding the applicator for use.

The invention will now be described in greater detail f with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. l is a plan view of a strip of the articles of manufacture, showing the lines of weakness transversely thereof for separation of one unit from the next; each constituting a nger cot having a plurality of bodies transversely thereof;

FIG, 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section taken on ythe line 2-*2 of FIG. l;

FIG. 2a is a plan View of a portion of the strip with the protector ply removed;

FIG. 3 is a transverse section taken on the line 3-3 ofkFIG. 1; y f FIG. 4 is a transverse section taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1;y

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal section of a strip of an alternative form;

FIG. 6 is a plan View of a single linger cot after removal from the strip;

FIG. 7 is a section taken on the line '7 7 of FIG. 6;

, aliases Fatented Api'. 6, 1965 Ice form of a folded package; and

FIG. 12 is a transverse section through a cot designed to be applied to two or more fingers.

Referring to the drawings, the invention comprises an elongate strip 1d of suitable length and Width comprised of plies 12 and 14, disposed adjacent each other so as to have coextensive surfaces 16 and 18. At uniformly spaced intervals lengthwise of the ply 12, a plurality of bodies 2t) are applied to the opposed surface 16 in spaced parallel relation. In the'preferred form, the transverse length of these bodies 20 increase from one end toward the other of the section to which they are applied'for reasons which will appear hereinafter. Each body 20 is comprised of a material which is to be used or applied by dobbing, rubbing, or the like, and may be in the form of a paste, cake or discrete particles adhered to the ply by a suitable bonding agent or by its own inherent tackiness. Cosmetics, dentrifices, medicaments, cleaning compositions and abrasives are some of the materials that may be used. The bodies may be strips of a fabricated material having abrasive or polishing characteristics or impregnated with any of the compounds related above attached to the ply 20. The opposed surface 16 of the ply 12 between the bodies 20 is coated with an adhesive 22. The ply 14, in the simplest form of the invention, is fastened to the ply 12 so as to form a protective covering by pressing the portions intermediate the bodies 20 into engagement with the adhesive areas 2.2. The opposed surface 18 of the ply 14 may have adhesive applied to those portions opposite the adhesive on the ply 12 or to the entire surface so that the ply adheres not only to the adhesive-coated portions 22 but also to the body portions 20. The adhesive may be omitted from the ply 12 and the ply 14 adhered thereto by pressing its coated surface against the uncoated areas between the bodies or to the bodies themselves. f

An adhesive is used which adheres lightly to a material pressed against it or to itself so as to permit separating the plies 12 and 14 easily without tearing of the plies or detaching the bodies 2t), or any portions thereof.

As will be seen by reference to FIG. 1, the strip 10 is divided at regular intervals lengthwise thereof by transversely extending lines of weakness 24, which may be in the form of perforations which permit separation'by tearing of one section from the next. The spacing of the lines of weakness is chosen to that each section has on it a plurality of bodies 20. Each section is further provided with a weakened line 26 extending longitudinally thereof from one lateral edge, at one end, along a curve to the opposite lateral edge at the opposite edge, so as to provide a finger-shaped article constituting a finger cot. The transverse length of the bodies 2t) in each section increasing from a minimum at one end (the tip) to a maximum at the other end (the base) within the line of separation 26.

As will be seen by reference to FIG. 7, the ply 12, to which the bodies Ztl are secured, is a flattened tube, hence when a length containing a finger cot is separated from the strip 1t), its walls may be separated to permit the finger to be thrust into the tube as shown in FIG. 8. The portion of the tube along the line of separation 26 is heatsealed so that when the waste piece 28 is removed, the curved side of the cot will form one side of the tube. If desired, the longitudinal edges of the plies may be ad- 

1. AN ARTICLE OF MANUFACTURE COMPRISING COEXTENSIVE PLIES OF FLEXIBLE MATERIAL SITUATED FACE-TO-FACE, A PLURALITY OF SPACED BODIES OF USEFUL COMPOSITION ATTACHED TO THE FACE OF ONE OF THE PLIES, SAID SPACED BODIES AND THE PORTION OF THE PLY TO WHICH THEY ARE ATTACHED COLLECTIVELY 